Towing dead tractor

[RedMF40]

Occasionally I have to move my 2 dead tractors around. One is a Cub I just bought, needs a starter. The other is a very heavy McCormick-Deering 10-20. Needs everything.

I have a homemade tow bar, piece of strong pipe with holes for hitch pins at each end.

Here’s the question: if I lock the steering wheel straight ahead will the tractor follow more or less right behind mine without wandering too much? Can tow the 10-20 from the front, Cub from the rear.

Thanks for any thoughts. Just going several hundred feet each time, staying on the property.

Gerrit

 

[MJMJ]

No. Unless you’re going in a straight line and not far, its not going to work well.

 

[Tom Railsback]

We had relatives who towed an 8N Ford regularly. They would tie a section cut from am inner tube to the steering wheel and anchor the other end, possibly around the gear shift lever. When they went around a corner, the tractor would follow and after the corner was behind them, it would automatically return to follow the towing vehicle.

 

[RedMF40]

We had relatives who towed an 8N Ford regularly. They would tie a section cut from am inner tube to the steering wheel and anchor the other end, possibly around the gear shift lever. When they went around a corner, the tractor would follow and after the corner was behind them, it would automatically return to follow the towing vehicle.

One for, one against. Not a safety issue since I have plenty of room to play with and slow speeds. I’ll give it a try.

 

[NDIHC]

Towed an LA Case 12 miles to my place with a homemade tow bar. Didn't tie off the steering wheel and it tracked perfectly behind the pickup at about 30 mph or so. I don't think I'd pull one backward though. I'd think going backwards the front wheels would want to wander back and forth.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I think you are right on on the heavy 10-20. Bungee strap the steering wheel on the cub and it should work fine you aren’t going far

 

[used red MN]

Unless your hitch lifts the front wheels off the ground to make the tractor mimic a two wheel trailer it will just go straight or to whatever direction the wheels are set. If the hitch gets to an extreme angle it will drag the front wheels but there will be a lot of resistance. If you are in grass or dirt the front tractor wheels will dig in quite a bit. It may work fair in wet grass.

 

[MJMJ]

One for, one against. Not a safety issue since I have plenty of room to play with and slow speeds. I’ll give it a try.

I’m saying locking the steering wheel is a bad idea. Tying it with a bungee is different, it allows some controlled movement. I’ve never done it but can’t say it won’t work.

 

[rustred]

Occasionally I have to move my 2 dead tractors around. One is a Cub I just bought, needs a starter. The other is a very heavy McCormick-Deering 10-20. Needs everything.

I have a homemade tow bar, piece of strong pipe with holes for hitch pins at each end.

Here’s the question: if I lock the steering wheel straight ahead will the tractor follow more or less right behind mine without wandering too much? Can tow the 10-20 from the front, Cub from the rear.

Thanks for any thoughts. Just going several hundred feet each time, staying on the property.

Gerrit

Yes it will follow , I pull
Mine by myself when no help is around , i Tie the tarp strap at 6:00 position and down ward. Gives a bit of movement but no steering wheel turning. If u want it to track properly u need an actual v tow hitch and mount it solid to the pulled tractor. A pipe like u have is no better than using a chain. As the tractor will go where it wants with out the steering being tied.

 

[Brian G. NY]

Unless your hitch lifts the front wheels off the ground to make the tractor mimic a two wheel trailer it will just go straight or to whatever direction the wheels are set. If the hitch gets to an extreme angle it will drag the front wheels but there will be a lot of resistance. If you are in grass or dirt the front tractor wheels will dig in quite a bit. It may work fair in wet grass.

If you are "handy" you can construct a towbar like a triangle that can securely bolt to the front axle.
If the caster is good, you may not even have to tie the steering wheel while going forward but you won't be able to back up.
Even with the steering wheel tied the front tires will easily follow by skidding as you turn; even on blacktop.
With the steering wheel tied, you will actualy be able to back the tractor into a shed.
Back in the 60s, I "flat towed" a whole bunch of '64/'65 Falcons that I bought for "parts". I made a homemade tow bar specifically for bolting to the frame after removing the front bumper. I usually tied the steering wheel to the "wind wing window" frame with a good rope.
I actually towed a '65 Comet over 100 miles that way.
How many remember "wind wing windows"? If you were a smoker they were real handy. LOL
I once made a tow bar that fastened to the spindle between the NFE wheels on a WD that I bought for parts.
I towed it about 8 miles behind my WD. Of course, the wheels positively followed with that setup.
I now have a HD homemade tow bar that I have bolted to the WFE axle of my WD-45 a couple of times to move it between my two properties that are about a mile apart.
It might take a little time to build a real towbar but it could come in handy if you regularly (or even occasionally) need it for moving your tractors around.
I would never tow a tractor faster than the top speed it is designed to travel at.

 

[Brian G. NY]

We had relatives who towed an 8N Ford regularly. They would tie a section cut from am inner tube to the steering wheel and anchor the other end, possibly around the gear shift lever. When they went around a corner, the tractor would follow and after the corner was behind them, it would automatically return to follow the towing vehicle.

I bet they had a "fixed" towbar like the ones you see on the front of cars being towed behind RVs?
And, the caster had to have been set pretty good as well.
Sometimes, if the wheel is not tied securely and the caster (or tow-in) is not right, the wheels will "flop around" like the tail wheels on the old fashioned side rakes.

 

[Janicholson]

Yes it will follow , I pull
Mine by myself when no help is around , i Tie the tarp strap at 6:00 position and down ward. Gives a bit of movement but no steering wheel turning. If u want it to track properly u need an actual v tow hitch and mount it solid to the pulled tractor. A pipe like u have is no better than using a chain. As the tractor will go where it wants with out the steering being tied.

With the exception that it won't run over the tow tractor down an incline! Jim

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

One for, one against. Not a safety issue since I have plenty of room to play with and slow speeds. I’ll give it a try.

The steering wheel is NOT "locked" in this instance. It's held by a stretchy inner tube.

For the tractor to follow you and self-steer, the tow bar needs to be RIGIDLY attached to the front of the tractor. Then as long as the steering is somewhat aligned, it will follow you along like a dog on a leash.

There's some colloquial name for the push pole you built. They were commonly used years ago to push wagon loads of hay up into the barn to be unloaded. Regardless, as your pole can pivot at both ends it will not steer the tractor reliably.

 

[Ellis Kinney]

I have three Farmall M tractors. Occasionally one might quit in the field and have to be towed. As simply as possible I will try to explain how I tow them. I welded a tow bar that fits the 3 pt. hitch and has a hole to fit the tow point of the other tractor. When I turn the tractor follows and does not roll forward and run over the tow tractor. Ellis

 

[Brian G. NY]

I have three Farmall M tractors. Occasionally one might quit in the field and have to be towed. As simply as possible I will try to explain how I tow them. I welded a tow bar that fits the 3 pt. hitch and has a hole to fit the tow point of the other tractor. When I turn the tractor follows and does not roll forward and run over the tow tractor. Ellis

Ellis, that sounds like a good idea. Do you tie the steering wheel?
If not it seems the front wheels would tend to turn sideways because going backewards the caster would be the wrong way.

 

[AZglide]

Occasionally I have to move my 2 dead tractors around. One is a Cub I just bought, needs a starter. The other is a very heavy McCormick-Deering 10-20. Needs everything.

I have a homemade tow bar, piece of strong pipe with holes for hitch pins at each end.

Here’s the question: if I lock the steering wheel straight ahead will the tractor follow more or less right behind mine without wandering too much? Can tow the 10-20 from the front, Cub from the rear.

Thanks for any thoughts. Just going several hundred feet each time, staying on the property.

Gerrit

Had to tow a NAA a couple of hundred yards due to a breakdown and no one around to steer. Put a tow strap on the front axle and brought it home. I was surprised how well it followed.

 

[AZglide]

Had to tow a NAA a couple of hundred yards due to a breakdown and no one around to steer. Put a tow strap on the front axle and brought it home. I was surprised how well it followed.

Correction…I attached the strap to the grill guard.

 

[scootergmc]

Yes, you can do it. We've run all sorts of things through a steering wheel to keep the wheels tracking, tied it off with rope, a pry bar through to the floor, ratchet straps, whatever, etc. It can wander a little bit, the world won't end, especially if it's flat and you're just pulling them around the yard.

Of course having an all terrain forklift helps as well because then you just pick up the front end and it makes things so easy, but like a drug addiction, having a forklift leads to all sorts of other things showing up on your property as well.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Had to tow a NAA a couple of hundred yards due to a breakdown and no one around to steer. Put a tow strap on the front axle and brought it home. I was surprised how well it followed.

The tractor will follow when towed by a strap to a certain degree. When it gets far enough off to one side or the other it will "steer" same as you were towing with a rigid drawbar. It just won't auto-center when it gets back behind the towing tractor. It'll go to the opposite side and then swing back the other way. You can mitigate this some by triangulating the strap, that is having it pull from two places on the front of the tractor. If you, for example, attach one strap to each spindle and then connect both straps to the drawbar of the second tractor, the tractor being towed will follow you pretty well. You just won't be able to stop.

 

[RedMF40]

I have three Farmall M tractors. Occasionally one might quit in the field and have to be towed. As simply as possible I will try to explain how I tow them. I welded a tow bar that fits the 3 pt. hitch and has a hole to fit the tow point of the other tractor. When I turn the tractor follows and does not roll forward and run over the tow tractor. Ellis

That’s the best. One afternoon if I have nothing else to do I’ll try to make up something like that.